I just finished reading The Ultimate Start-Up Guide by Tom Hogan and Carol Broadbent, and I must say I am surprised. I expected great start-up marketing advice, and the book delivered. I’ve worked with Tom and Carol before, and they know their stuff Knowing the authors, I also expected an engaging, irreverent tone and style. The book […]
Two Reasons Not to Revise As You Draft
You’ve heard many versions of this advice before: Embrace the ugly first draft. Ann Handley, Everybody Writes Write with the door closed, revise with the door open. Stephen King, On Writing Turn off the inner critic and be fearless. Me, The Writer’s Process No matter how it’s phrased, the advice is sound. Resist the temptation to revise and polish […]
Need More Time to Write?
The biggest barrier to writing for many people is time – more specifically, the lack of time. Writing takes time and attention, both of which are precious resources in the modern world. For many years, I built my consulting business on the reality that even the most adept writers struggle to find that time in the modern […]
Writing Productivity: Why Counting Words Can Mislead You
Whenever a group of writers gets together and the topic of productivity comes up, inevitably the discussion turns to “words per hour” or “words per day.” “I once did 8,000 words in a day.” “I can write 1,000 words an hour, easily.” “I had a terrible session, only 500 words.” This conversation might lead an insecure […]
Leave Room for Curiosity
Like many people I know, I spent part of my holidays reading The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis’ wonderful new book about the relationship between Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman as they laid the foundations for behavioral economics. The book is way more interesting than I just made it sound. Anyway, at one point (page 230, to be […]
Saving Unwritten Ideas for Later
You get an inspired idea for a blog post, story, or screenplay. You can almost see it in your head. It’s good – very good. It’s so important that you decide to save it for some future time, when you can give it your full attention. When you finally have the time, you open up the notes or revisit […]